Saturday, May 30th, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Austin City Hall Plaza (W Cesar Chavez St & Lavaca St )
Health Care for All Texas Austin Chapter Coalition to Rally at City Hall for Single-Payer Universal Health Care
AUSTIN – Noting that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured in the United States at 28 percent, a coalition of groups is holding a Rally for Improved “Medicare for All” Saturday, May 30th, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Austin City Hall Plaza (W Cesar Chavez St & Lavaca St ). Mayor-elect Lee Leffingwell and Austin City Councilman Mike Martinez will be recognized for their roles in the Austin City Council’s endorsement of HR 676, a single payer universal healthcare bill. There will be various other speakers, and live music by the acoustic trio “Voyces”.
Last year, the Austin City Council endorsed single-payer universal healthcare (U.S. House Bill 676). The effort was led by Lee Leffingwell, Mike Martinez, and Randi Shade. “This is not socialized medicine,” said Leffingwell, who co-sponsored the resolution. “It is basically the same system we have now in the form of Medicare, just more broadly applied … about 20 percent of our Austin residents don’t have health insurance, and that puts a heavy burden on our area hospitals and our network of social service providers.”
The chief sponsor of the rally, Health Care for All Texas (HCFAT), cites the fact that non-profit, single-payer universal health is all but “off the table” in the current health care reform hearings in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the rally is to gain populist support and demand congressional consideration of single-payer health care as a viable option. Organizers are strongly urging the public to attend and participate.
The event is also an effort by health care groups to spotlight the plight of the uninsured in the United States, now estimated to number 50 million and growing. Over 14,000 Americans daily lose their employer-based health insurance due to the current economic situation. Noteworthy, says HCFAT, is the fact that over 50% of all bankruptcies in the U.S. are due to medical bills. That doesn’t happen in any other industrialized country.
Other sponsors include the Physicians for a National Health Program, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, the Gray Panthers, Healthcare-NOW, Progressive Democrats of America, and the Texas State Employees Union.
Health Care for All Texas (www.healthcareforalltexas.org) is a nonprofit organization with chapters in Austin, El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Houston.
Contact Ed Kopas at edwardkopas@yahoo.com, or Gaye Kopas at gkopas@msn.com